Learning how to monetize a blog is the goal of many people who enter the world of blogging. Along with sharing their knowledge and information about their niche, they are also highly focused on marketing and advertising. Most bloggers soon find making money from their blog is takes planning and hours of work. In this case, monetizing a blog is goes beyond the typical adsense ads.
To successfully monetize a blog, advertisers must be located and enticed to place their ads on the blog. How to accomplish this is through a targeted marketing campaign, launched at potential advertisers to let them know the blog exists. In this targeted campaign, potential revenue sources who offer services or products related to the blog’s content are contacted directly or indirectly.
Businesses willing to advertise their goods and services on a blog seek indicators of a successful blog. These indicators include high or increasing readership and willingness of the blogger to accommodate their advertising needs. Typical accommodations generally translate to an advertising space above the fold or another equal place of prominence in the blog.
Promoting: Leveraging the Power of the Blog’s Posts
Promoting the power of the blog entails letting the blog sell itself. This is accomplished by using the blog’s posts as part of the marketing campaign. Examples include:
Post Commenter’s – examine people who leave comments to determine those who may be potential advertisers. Contact them directly to find out if they are interested in placing advertisements in the blog. This strategy for leveraging blog posts opens the door, because the potential advertiser is already familiar with the blog and its content.
In-Bound Links – examine these links to determine who is linking to the blog. Following up with direct messages to those with links to the blog’s posts is often a good strategy for attracting in advertising revenue. The advantages being they apparently value the blog and its content.
Blog Posts – placing a message on the bottom of each post provides the opportunity to let every reader know about the opportunity to place advertisements in the blog. This message should be brief and not distract from the post itself. Two contact options in the message include a “Please Contact for Additional Information” or provide a link to a web page offering additional information.
Advertising: Including the Blog in the Marketing Campaign
This advertising strategy involves using the blog itself as an indirect method of self-promotion. This is accomplished by creating the following:
Banners – placing banner placeholders on the blog uses the blog itself as a promotion tool to attract potential advertisers. A link should be added to a page to the – advertise here banner – to take businesses to information regarding advertising services.
To avoid the appearance of having too many – advertise here banners – offer free advertising to colleagues to fill most of the banners. Once a banner placeholder is rented or leased, then withdraw offers for free advertising or add another banner placeholder.
Advertising Tab – add an additional page to the blog for offering advertising services. This page will create another tab on the menu bar called – Advertising. This page should be carefully crafted to hook potential advertisers into contacting the blogger to make arrangements.
Advertising prices should not be listed anywhere in the blog, because other bloggers are always checking out their competitors. This leads to price under cutting by other bloggers who are also seeking advertisers.
Newsletters – if a newsletter is offered by the blog, then this is an ideal venue for a supporting the marketing campaign. Include a dedicated area of each newsletter which is designed to let readers know advertising space is available in the blog.
Subscribers – send informational e-mails regarding advertising opportunities to subscribers who provide their e-mails to receive blog updates and news. Do not send unsolicited e-mails to non-subscribers to avoid being accused of spamming.
Niche Market: Actively Seeking Advertisers
This marketing campaign strategy involves visiting other blogs within the niche to find out who is advertising on these blogs. Once advertisers are identified, contact them directly to explore the possibility of these businesses advertising on the blogger’s blog. This strategy includes contacting:
- businesses who typically provide banner ads to sell products related to the niche on well established blogs.
- advertisers who use links to promote their goods and services relevant to the niche, this is especially pertinent to sponsored links.
- goods and services businesses or distributors described in other blogs.
Success in monetizing a blog requires the basic knowledge described regarding how to contact potential advertisers directly or indirectly. Also a successful marketing campaign, along with other blogging secrets, involves a proactive approach for any blogger who wants to make a living from their blogging passion.
David R. Wetzel - Dr. David Wetzel's experience includes more than 25 years in continuing, adult, and teacher education.
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